US to purchase Israeli-designed Iron Dome missile defenses

An Iron Dome launcher fires an interceptor rocket in the southern Israeli city of Ashdod (Reuters File Photo)

The U.S. Army plans to buy a limited number of Iron Dome missile defense systems from Israel as it assesses options for its long-term needs, the military branch said in a statement on Wednesday.

Iron Dome has been billed as providing city-sized coverage against Katyusha-style rockets with ranges of between 5 km (3 miles) and 70 km (42 miles), as well as mortar bombs. The system uses small interceptor missiles to shoot down incoming threats and, according to Israeli and U.S. officials, has had a 90 percent success rate in engagements on the Gaza border.

"The Iron Dome will be assessed and experimented as a system that is currently available to protect deployed U.S. military service members against a wide variety of indirect fire threats and aerial threats," the Army said in a statement.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the deal was a "great achievement for Israel. This is another manifestation of the deepening of our steadfast alliance with the United States, and an expression of Israel's rising status in the world."